Florida Gators gymnastics wins SEC championship

Special report on the Florida Gators gymnastics team:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The 2019 Southeastern Conference regular-season champions are the Florida Gators.

No. 3 Florida’s 197.225 – 196.35 win tonight at No. 20 Arkansas gives the Gators sole possession of the 2019 SEC regular-season title.

SEC TITLE:

  • Florida claims its 11th SEC title (1982, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’89, ’07, ’10, ’12, ’13, 16, ’19). This is the third year for the awarding of a regular-season SEC gymnastics title. From 1981-2016, the winner at the SEC Championships was considered the league champion.
  • This is the third SEC title for the Florida program in a seven-day span. The men’s teams for swimming & diving and indoor track & field each claimed league titles last Saturday at their SEC Championship meets.
  • Florida athletics leads all league programs with 243 SEC team titles.

Tonight was the final Friday of SEC action around the league.

Head-to-head competition does not come into play to determine SEC regular-season champion. Seeding for SEC Championships is based on March 16 national rankings.

This is the third year for the awarding of a regular-season SEC gymnastics title. From 1981-2016, the winner at the SEC Championships was considered the league champion. LSU claimed the first two SEC regular-season titles (2017 & 2018).

School SEC Record Overall 2019 High
Florida 6-1 6-2 198.025
Auburn 5-2 7-2 197.100
Alabama 4-3 9-4 196.900
Georgia 4-3 6-4 197.475
LSU 4-3 9-3 197.900
Kentucky 3-4 5-6 197.225
Missouri 2-5 6-9 196.550
Arkansas 0-7 1-10 196.375

TONIGHT’S MEET
Florida led the meet from the opening rotation. A Gator claimed at least a share of every event title, all with marks of 9.925.

Trinity Thomas led Florida on its opening event, uneven bars. Fellow freshman Savannah Schoenherr was second with her 9.90. Senior Alicia Boren anchored the Gators’ vault lineup with her winning mark.

Boren and Thomas shared the evening’s floor title with Arkansas’ Sophia Carter and Sydney McGlone. Florida closed the meet on beam, led by Boren’s winning 9.925.

After equaling her season-best of 39.625, Boren claimed her second all-around win of the season. Thomas was runner-up at 39.55.

GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:

  • Alicia Boren equaled her season-best of 9.925 for the third time in 2019 – and for the second consecutive meet – to win tonight’s vault competition.
  • Trinity Thomas’ 9.925 claimed her fifth uneven bars title of the season.
  • Boren upped her season best to 9.925 to take her third beam win of 2019.
  • Thomas now has six floor wins this season and Boren claims her fourth.
  • Boren’s four wins (vault, beam, floor, all-around) gives her 48 event titles, moving her to 11th on the Gators Career Events Win chart.

RECORDS: Florida (6-2, 6-1 SEC), UA (1-10, 0-7 SEC)

THE SERIES: Florida leads the series 42-3.

NATIONAL RANK:
Florida – Florida is No. 3 in the eighth Road to Nationals standings.
UA – The Razorbacks are No. 20 in the Road to Nationals standings.

UP NEXT:
2019 home action concludes for Florida when it plays host to Penn State on Friday, March 8. Meet time is 6:45 p.m. in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

Here’s what’s planned for Friday’s competition:

  • It is Senior Night and Florida’s Alicia Boren and Amanda Cheney will be honored in a post-match ceremony.
  • Take advantage of the dinner buffet in the Exactech Arena’s Center Court Club. Watch the teams warm-up while enjoying:

Cheese tortellini with a basil pesto cream
Meatballs and spaghetti
Caesar salad
Garlic breadsticks
Popcorn & chips
Gourmet cookies and double fudge brownies
Meet Day Snacks – popcorn, fresh fruit, caprese skewers
Water, sodas, teas and lemonade
Tickets are just $13 for kids and $19 for adults. Click here for additional information and to purchase tickets for this exclusive dinner event.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.